George Holtzman, co-chairman of the Veterans Memorial Walk board, along with his wife Babs presented $50,000 to Hinesville Mayor Allen Brown and the Hinesville Downtown Development Authority during the Thursday city council meeting.

The donation will go towards the America flag area at the Veterans Memorial Walk, which is currently under construction at Bryant Commons.

Prior to giving the donation, Holtzman and his wife gave a presentation on the origins of the memorial, and where it currently stands today in terms of completion.

"Hinesville is a wonderful city. I think everyone will agree we are a military community. And when you go to other towns across this country, most towns have a veteran’s memorial," George Holtzman said.

The memorial will feature a section for every branch of the military as well as a local Revolutionary War unit, the Liberty Independent Troop. Members of the public and local organizations can buy a paver on the walk to memorialize loved ones.

The Veterans Memorial Walk has raised $237,000 in contributions so far, but $400,000 still needs to be raised to complete the memorial, according to Holtzman. All of the funds for the project have been raised without government grants.

Holtzman hopes the money raised for the project will be done before he and his wife relocate to St. Louis, Missouri in March to be near their extended family. The goal is to have the memorial dedicated by Veterans Day 2017.

The memorial is not just a Holtzman project, Babs Holtzman said, but should be the community’s project.

"Every single one of us have benefited in some way or another from the military," she said.

Babs added that the memorial is a way to give back to those who have served.

"It is not for our glory, it is to remember them," she said.

The council also approved a memorandum of agreement with the 92nd Engineer Battalion on Fort Stewart to work at Bryant Commons on the Veterans Memorial Walk.

According to the agenda, "the Hinesville Military Affairs Committee through Veterans Memorial working group sought assistance from the 92nd Engineers in the form of site work and building demolition. The Army has agreed to provide the assistance through an Innovative Readiness Training exercise which is scheduled to begin in the next few weeks."

The agreement states that the engineers will "focus on demolition, surveying, grading, and clearing areas."